Annie
by BettyHT
Summary: Rustlers and kidnapping lead Adam into a tempestuous romantic relationship. [Sequel to follow.]
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Well, it's no treat for me either. Stop moving around so much."

"Why? Just because you like to give orders?"

"No, because it hurts my shoulder."

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't thinking about that. If you lean back into me, maybe that would take some of the pressure off your shoulder."

"I'll be fine."

"You don't have to be the big suffering hero all the time, you know. Lean back, ya jackass, and take some pressure off your shoulder. You aren't going to be much help to your brothers and me if you pass out."

"I will not pass out."

"Yeah, well I don't know you well enough to count on that, so lean back. Now!"

All the while they were arguing, Annie was trying to work her back toward Adam's right hand so he could reach in her pants. Now in other circumstances, she would have just invited him to do that, but at the moment, they were tied together, he probably had a broken left collarbone, and she had a small caliber derringer tucked into the back of her pants. Because her hands were tied to Adam's, she couldn't reach down into the back of her pants to retrieve the weapon. His hands and fingers were much longer so she was trying to maneuver his hand into her pants to grab the pistol. Meanwhile she was covering what she was trying to do by staging a mock argument with him. Of course, he didn't know it was a mock argument, but he would when his fingers touched the grip of her pistol.

Annie's younger brother Jeremy was tied to Hoss. The two of them were about the same size so the rustlers apparently thought that they should be tied together with the larger rope the four men had. They had used a smaller rope to tie Annie and Adam together, but they had wound it around their wrists too. Suddenly she had Adam's hand in position and hiked up her hips burying his hand in her lace underthings. He would have enjoyed the moment a lot more except as his fingers brushed the lace drawers, they also felt the handle of a small pistol. He wrapped his fingers around the grip of the gun and then whispered.

"Well I thought that was going to be more fun. Now what do you think we can do? I need to be out of these ropes in order to do anything with that."

"Are they looking at us?"

"No. What do you have in mind?"

"Suck in your gut and hold it."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Annie hissed at him. Of all the times to be stubborn and unwilling to listen to a woman, this was not it. As Adam complied, he understood. It loosened the ropes somewhat, and Annie began slipping the rope from his wrists and sliding it down his hand. Soon he would have one hand free. It hurt a lot as the rough rope abraded the skin as Annie forced it to slide down his hand, but he had to hide that or the men watching them would know they were up to something. He put a smile on his face instead and tried to hold it.

"What are you smiling at?" The man who appeared to be the leader of the rustlers didn't like to see Adam smiling. It made him nervous.

"Well you might be smiling too if your hands were tied and pushed up a lady's behind. Can't say when I've ever had so much fun when I was tied up."

"Well, wipe that smile off your face. You might want to save some of that good cheer for later. We still gotta decide what to do with you four."

"You could just leave us here, and head out with the cattle you have already."

"Shut up! You know we can't do that. You let that kid escape and now we gotta worry about him coming back here with help. There's only four of us, so you four are our ace in the hole. If it wasn't for you, we'd be gone already." He gave Adam a solid kick to his thigh then to emphasize his power as well as his anger and frustration.

Dusk was approaching and the four rustlers were getting desperate. Adam could read it in their body language and could see from the worried look on Hoss' face that he knew it too. Desperate men could be especially dangerous. All they had done so far was rustle some cattle, but their fear of being apprehended could cause them to do a whole lot more. Gradually he felt the rope sliding over his right hand and onto his fingers. He realized he would have to pull his hand with the gun from her lace drawers first though. He had to take a breath anyway.

Whispering to Annie, Adam prepared to take a deep breath. "All right, that's smart. Let me catch my breath, and then you can work it down the rest of the way. I'll pull the gun out the next time. Tell me when you're ready."

The next time was the charm. Adam had a gun in his hand, and it was free of the ropes. The warmth of the pistol reminded him constantly of where it had been. He found Annie to be willful, sarcastic, smart, sassy, and incredibly sexy. Joe and Hoss had a hard time taking their eyes from her the first time they met. Adam had managed mainly because of how she talked to him at their first meeting. He tried to focus on remembering the details as Annie worked the rope down his other hand abrading the skin as it had on his right hand.

"We don't have any of your cattle. You can check the brands if you want. All twenty of these are ours."

"Do you know you're on the Ponderosa?"

"We're just cutting through. We aren't grazing on any of your precious grass. We're free rangers, and we want to get these cattle to California."

"Well you could have asked permission."

"Boy howdy, Your Excellency. Now I have heard about the Cartwrights. That big one must be the one they call Hoss, cause everyone says he's a right nice man and fair and kind to everyone."

"Yes, ma'am, that's me."

"So the one in the green jacket must be the handsome ladies man who could charm anyone into just about anything."

"Yes, ma'am, at your service."

"So that leaves just one and that's the oldest one who's the arrogant, know-it-all, haughty, bossy one."

Hoss and Little Joe started chuckling then, but they could see Adam get his mad on. There would probably have been more of a verbal sparring match except the four rustlers they had been tracking thought that all of them were in pursuit and had surrounded them. Suddenly four men with rifles stepped from the trees.

"You so afraid of the two of us that you had to have four armed men waiting just in case?"

Except the four men yelled for them to raise their hands and the Cartwright brothers obliged them. Surprised, Annie and Jeremy did not respond immediately and one of the men fired a shot over their heads. They raised their hands then. All of them were ordered to dismount. Disarmed one by one, they were marched up the hill to the rustlers' camp hidden at the top of a rocky ridge.

As they were marched up hill, Adam had moved to wrestle with two of them to give Joe a chance to get away. Annie had seen the two brothers exchanging looks but hadn't realized they were up to something or she would have run too. By the time she realized what they were doing, it was too late. Adam was laying on the ground holding his shoulder and getting some well placed kicks that put him into a fetal position. Hoss and Jeremy had to almost carry him up the rest of the way. Annie had wanted to go to him to help him, but the men wouldn't let her. It wasn't often you saw someone perform an act of heroism like that. He could have been killed for that little maneuver, but he acted like he had done nothing out of the ordinary. Hoss and Jeremy also acted as if that was exactly how they expected him to act. She was thinking that men were a little crazy risking their lives for others, and then acting all nonchalant about it. If it was her, they would have heard something like screaming, yelling, and certainly complaints about being kicked like that. On the other hand, it had been the first indication she had had that perhaps the oldest of the Cartwright brothers might be more than an arrogant, haughty, bossy boots. He certainly was attractive if you liked the masculine, virile, hirsute type, and she did.

So here were Adam and Annie tied together back to back with one small derringer as their only defense and not much of one unless they could get free of the ropes before anything else happened. All the motion of what they were doing was taking a toll on Adam though. As Annie worked the rope down his left hand, it put a lot of pressure on his left arm which of course pulled at the damaged left shoulder. Sharp pains were radiating down his left arm with every movement. The blow to the head added to his misery because as the pain and movement increased, so did the dizziness and the nausea. He fought to keep himself from retching by trying to take a lot of breaths but that worked against the efforts of Annie to get them free.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Now Annie and Adam were sitting and she could feel him shivering in the growing cold. She wondered if his injuries made it worse for him. She was leaning back into him as she worked the ropes, and could smell him, and she liked the smell. He smelled of leather, horses, sweat, and some bay rum. It was a manly scent which went nicely with the manly package of broad shoulders, beautiful eyes, and those pouty lips she was thinking would be a pleasure to kiss. She would never tell him that though. He was far too arrogant and probably assumed every gal who saw him, wanted him. She had met men like that before. She had no hopes this time either but it didn't hurt to admire the scenery and dream about him sliding into bed next to her and pulling her into a warm embrace. She was jerked from her reverie when the two of them were hauled to their feet and forced out to the edge of the ridge.

"You down there. You see what I got here. You come any closer, and I'll throw him right over the edge. Now I want to see you all mounted up and riding back the way you came. You leave us alone and we'll let your people live."

Down in the valley where they had been accosted by the rustlers and disarmed, Ben sat with Joe and a number of hands from the ranch. They were out of range of the men on the hill unless there was a sharpshooter in either group, but as far as Hoss and Adam knew, they were the only sharp shooters there.

"Adam, son, are you all right? Is Hoss all right?"

"Pa, we're all right."

The rustler who had yelled the threat hit Adam in the head with his pistol for that. "I didn't tell you could say anything. You two keep your guns on him. You untie him." The man gave orders to the other three so it was obvious who was in charge.

As the man untied Adam, Adam passed the gun to Annie who quickly slipped it around to the front of her as soon as her hands were free. With the rustlers' attention on Adam and in the diminishing light of dusk, they weren't watching her carefully. Meanwhile Jeremy and Hoss were loosening their ropes with no one watching them after watching Annie and Adam and seeing what they had done. The rustlers were not skilled in the art of tying up two people together that they had been forced to do because they only had two ropes.

The rustlers forced Adam to stand at the edge of the ridge. Annie could see that he was dazed and would likely be unable to keep his balance. It wouldn't take much to topple him over the side.

"All right, you back off and ride out of here, or I push him over the side. It's a long way down, and if you want him to avoid the sudden stop at the bottom, you better do as I say."

From her peripheral vision, Annie saw Hoss and Jeremy getting free of their ropes and reaching for their pistols that had been thrown down near them. She waited a moment but could wait no longer as the leader was threatening to shove Adam over the side.

"Drop your guns!"

The four men whirled on Annie, and it was four guns to one derringer they thought until they heard the pistols cocked on the other side of them by Hoss and Jeremy.

"You better do what the little lady says or you're gonna be caught in a crossfire." Three of the men dropped their pistols, but the leader turned in fury toward Adam.

"I ain't going alone." He lunged toward Adam to push him over the edge, but Adam turned enough to avoid being shoved over the edge falling instead to his side and grabbing a small shrub as he slowly slid toward the edge and the sheer drop below. The leader however toppled over the side. Annie raced to Adam's side and grabbed his arm pulling him but unable to stop his slide toward the edge although she slowed it enough that Hoss was able to get there and pull him back. Hoss pulled him up despite the brief yelp from Adam as Hoss grabbed his left arm and pulled. As soon as he had him safe, he let go of the left arm. Adam's eyes were squeezed shut, and he was breathing in short puffs as he tried to minimize the movement that caused agony. Annie sat down and cradled his head and did her best to stabilize his left arm and shoulder so they couldn't move.

Within minutes, Ben, Joe, and the others clambered up to the campsite. The hands took custody of the three rustlers and marched them down the hill. Joe slapped Hoss on the shoulder.

"Took your time getting back, Shortshanks. Just got here in time to see Adam almost tossed over the side."

"He doesn't look too upset about it now."

Laying with his head pillowed between Annie's ample breasts, Adam was content as she fussed over him. The pain had diminished as soon as he could stop moving and relax. He liked the feeling of her caring for him and lay calmly in her arms. Soon Ben and Joe were at his side with Hoss. Ben knelt down and put his hand on Adam's right shoulder.

"Adam, are you all right?"

"Well, I think I have a broken collar bone. I got a wallop upside my head and a few kicks to tender areas, but otherwise, I'm fine. I think my nurse here should keep doing what she's doing for another week or two though."

"You're just a malingerer. Most men would be up and herding cattle after a couple little bang ups like that." Annie smirked as well as Adam ever had.

Standing up then, Ben rolled his eyes, Joe smiled, and Hoss chuckled and shook his head. Hoss had a feeling all that sparring between the two of them showed they liked each other already. Jeremy walked over, and Joe did the introductions.

Ben didn't have much confidence in the plan the brother and sister had. "Well, Annie and Jeremy, your chances of getting your cattle over the mountains before the snow falls too deep are pretty slim. If you want, we'll buy your cattle and add them to our herd. We can take them to market in the spring. You're welcome to stay on the Ponderosa as our guests as long as you want."

"You don't owe us anything. We would have done it for anyone. After all, we helped old smarty pants here."

"I know he can be a bit supercilious and domineering, but he is my eldest son, and I am very grateful that you saved his life. I would like to consider both of you as friends, and as friends, I would welcome you to stay with us."

"Thank you. I think that Jeremy and I would like that."

"Supercilious and domineering? Isn't there some sympathy for the one who got hurt so Joe could get away?"

Joe had to jump in with that one. "See, there he goes taking credit for everything again. You'll have to excuse him. He has these delusions of grandeur some times."

Adam wanted to have a snappy retort to that, but Hoss was starting to help him up, and he had to bite his lip as the severe pain nearly overwhelmed him again."

"Not gonna cry like a little girl again, are you?" Adam just dropped his head to his chest and tried to ride out the wave of pain as Hoss pulled him up. "Sorry, I didn't know it was that bad. We'll get ya down this hill pronto and then we'll get ya home."

It took some time to get Adam home because they didn't have a wagon to use. He rode on Sport with Hoss on one side and his father on the other to make sure he didn't fall off his horse. With some of the hands, Joe helped Jeremy and Annie herd their cattle behind them until they reached one of the lower pastures. By the time they got to the ranch house, Adam was exhausted. Hoss helped him to his room and got him settled in bed. Annie asked if she could go see him. Ben and Joe were doing a count of the herd with Jeremy so Hoss was the only one there.

"Ah, ma'am, he ain't got no nightshirt on. He don't like em and wouldn't put one on."

"Well he's covered up with a blanket isn't he?"

"Yes'm, he is."

"Then would it be all right if I went to see him?"

"I guess so."

Taking that as permission, Annie headed up the stairs. At the top, she realized she didn't know which room and looked back down at Hoss who gave her the directions. When she got to his door, she found it slightly ajar. She knocked softly and entered. Adam appeared to be sleeping so she sat in a chair that was near the bed and watched him for a bit. His uneven breathing and the flickers of movement in his face showed he wasn't sleeping. Even though she knew he wasn't really asleep, she was startled when he spoke.

"Perhaps a kiss would help me sleep better."

"Well I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last man on earth."

"Well if you won't kiss me, there are all sorts of other things we can do if you want to slip in here with me."

"You're disgusting." Annie stood to leave but had a grin on her face as she exited the room. He liked her and wanted her. He was presumptuous though to think that just asking would get her in his bed. She hadn't been with a man in a long time though and she felt the desire in her heart to go to him. She knew he would be hard to resist, but she wasn't planning on making it easy for him. Although she knew she might succumb to his charms in a moment of weakness eventually. Even his voice was seductive. She heard him call out as she walked away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that rude. Please come back again."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Over the next couple of weeks, Adam and Annie sparred about all sorts of things and Adam teased her about being intimate when no one else was around. She teased him back unmercifully, and he kept suggesting she do something about what she was doing to him. He was out of bed after just a day, but couldn't work with that broken collar bone, and he was dizzy from the concussion as well. So the two of them had a lot of time together as the others helped get the ranch ready for the winter.

"Would you like a little mulled wine? Hop Sing really does a nice job with it every fall and winter. It might loosen you up a little."

"Maybe you ought to have some yourself. It might make you a little more mellow and pleasant to be around."

"No one is making you stay here with me. I could be reading a good book now if I didn't have to talk with you."

"Well I need to go take care of my horse anyway. Staring at his hindquarters and mucking out his stall will certainly be preferable to sitting with the hindquarters you're so good at being."

After grabbing her coat, hat, and gloves, Annie stormed out of the house. Adam picked up a book from the table next to his chair, but when he opened it, he found he couldn't concentrate. All he could think about was his last and hopefully his next conversation with the feisty young woman. He didn't want to, but he did like her very much. She got his mind working and his blood boiling in more ways than one. Normally Joe would have been after such a pretty woman who was staying with them, but her sharp tongue and quick wit were not things he found attractive. Joe and Hoss seemed to like Annie quite a bit though, and Adam thought they enjoyed her ribbing him altogether too much. Despite their sparring though, he found he enjoyed her company very much. He remembered being tied to her and having her warm body pressed to his back. Her quick thinking and resourcefulness had probably saved his life not that he would admit that to her. She would inevitably find a way to make him cringe when she talked about it. Adam liked his friends, his horse, and his ladies to have a bit of an edge, and he especially liked a woman who made him think as well as physically react to her. Annie was certainly doing all of that. Adam wondered what it would be like to kiss her, and if she would have a critical analysis afterwards. He grinned then and awaited her return.

In the stable, Annie was thinking along much the same lines. Except she was surprised that she liked Adam so much. Normally men who were so arrogant made her head in the opposite direction, but she was beginning to wonder if it was arrogance or just that he had confidence in his abilities. She had almost slapped his face earlier though. As she thought about that, she couldn't help it and she blushed. She had made several saucy comments to him, and he had been frustrated with her.

"Sometimes I think I ought to take you over my lap and spank you."

"Only sometimes? What about the other times?"

"Then I want to take you on my lap but for other purposes entirely."

"You're disgusting. Besides, I am not a child and I will not be talked to as if I am."

"Then why are you still here talking with me?"

"Because I told your father that I would stay with you while he was gone to town. Now I'm thinking I should have gone to town and run those errands for him, and he could have sat here with you."

That's when Adam had suggested the mulled wine, and now Annie was out here in the stable mucking out a stall when she could be relaxing in the nice warm house. As she finished, she thought she heard something outside. As she left the stable, she saw Adam sitting on the porch step. She closed the stable door and walked deliberately to him not wanting him to see how concerned she actually was.

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were told to stay in the house today?"

"I was, but I thought it would be nice to sit out here. I just got a bit dizzy so I sat down. Is that all right with you?"

"Do you want some help to go back inside or to sit out here?"

"Probably best if I head back inside."

Bending low, Annie had Adam put his arm around her shoulder as he stood. She saw him grimace in pain and knew it was probably his shoulder that hurt. Then the two of them walked into the house. Annie shivered under his touch for his warm hand grasping her shoulder was sending tingles all through her body.

"Are you cold? Hop Sing really does make some nice mulled wine."

"No, thank you, but a little hot chocolate might be nice."

It was hard to tell if it was superior hearing or fabulous intuition, but as Annie sat by Adam on the settee waiting for his dizziness to pass, Hop Sing came out with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies.

"Mr. Adam no eat breakfast. He eat something now. Missy Annie please to tell Hop Sing if she likes his hot chocolate and cookies."

"I am sure Adam will love them, and I know I'll find them delicious. Thank you."

Not liking Annie answering for him but unwilling to contradict her statement, Adam just scowled. Annie and Hop Sing noticed.

"Mister Adam not good patient. He not listen and do as told. You make him sit here and rest."

"I'll try, Hop Sing, but other that sitting on him, I don't know how to make the man stay where he's put."

Grinning lasciviously then, Adam did have a comment. "I wouldn't mind you sitting on me. When do you suppose you could start that?"

"I really ought to slap you, but then I'd have to touch you to do that which would be disgusting."

"Perhaps a game of checkers or chess then?"

That turned into a marathon session of chess with each winning two matches. Adam wasn't beaten often and had never been beaten by a woman. He knew his brothers were going to have a great time with that. They got called away to dinner by an impatient Ben and agreed to continue after dinner. Joe said he would play the winner but both ignored him. The last match lasted over three hours in total, and ended up with Adam conceding. Surprisingly Annie was gracious.

"It probably wasn't fair. You were getting tired and made some mistakes. You were ahead the whole match until you did that."

"I lost. You won. That's how it is. Congratulations." Adam leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened his eyes and smiled. "And tomorrow, a rematch!"

Groaning, Annie was smiling inside. Another whole day with him would be fun. When they weren't trading barbs, they talked about almost anything. She enjoyed being with a man who was willing to listen to her ideas and discuss them with her. It didn't hurt at all that she enjoyed just being by him physically too. She was beginning to think she would be able to identify him in the dark just by the smell of him for it was so masculine and suited him perfectly.

Because of Annie, the days passed quickly for Adam and that made everyone else in the family happy. He was normally such an ornery patient and got crabbier and crabbier as his convalescence progressed. This time he remained pleasant to everyone even if there seemed to be an inordinate amount of insults traded with Annie. It seemed they worked at coming up with more and more creative ways to jab at each other in conversation. Neither one ever got upset with the other though because it was a game with them. Ben smiled at Hoss one evening as Adam and Annie doing their usual bickering over a chess match. Both of them understood that Adam and Annie were starting to like each other more and more. It seemed that quite often they forgot there were even other people in the room. There was nothing that anyone could interpret as traditionally romantic between the two, but both Ben and Hoss expected that would change as soon as both of them admitted how they actually felt about one another because that was so clear to everyone else.

On Thanksgiving, the day was more pleasant than ever with Annie and Jeremy joining in the family celebration that also included Sheriff Roy Coffee and Doctor Paul Martin. Over dinner, Roy was inclined to share stories he had about the three Cartwright sons, and none of those stories showed them in a good light.

"Roy, you're scaring our guests with stories about us like that. Don't you have something good you could say to impress them instead."

"Well, Adam, I didn't know that you wanted to impress someone. Now I surely could tell stories to make you all look better. Now which one of the guests would you like me to impress?"

Everyone at the table laughed at Adam's scowl, but for the first time, it was clear that Adam was pursuing Annie and wanted her to see him in a good light. When it was time to bid Roy and Paul good night, Adam stood next to Annie on the porch. As everyone said goodbye, Adam put his right arm around Annie's shoulders and pulled her close.

"You better remove your arm from my shoulder before I remove it from yours."

"Well you could try. I wouldn't mind wrestling a little."

"Adam, mind your manners with our guest. It's Thanksgiving. You ought to show some gratitude for what Annie has done for you."

"Oh, Pa, I am very grateful to Annie except for the mouth on her."

"My mouth! You should talk, you egotistical martinet."

"Ah, have you been looking in the dictionary for new words for your insults, again?"

"No, when I look at you, they just naturally come to mind."

Shaking his head, Ben walked in the house to let the two of them have another one of their verbal sparring matches except this time Adam had his arm around Annie's shoulder. It was one step closer to him admitting he was falling in love with her. Despite her words, Annie had not removed his arm from her shoulder or his. It was apparent to everyone that she actually didn't mind at all.

The verbal banter continued between the two of them over the next several weeks, but sometimes it was more affectionate than barbed. Everyone seemed to notice except Annie at least to the observers. Inside, Annie had noticed and liked the fact that Adam was being nicer and nicer to her, but she wouldn't concede that to him and give him any more control over her than he already had. He was like a powerful magnet pulling her into his orbit. But she found it extremely difficult to think of leaving the Ponderosa, and when she thought like that, she knew too that she was falling in love.

Finally it was nearing Christmas, and Annie wondered if she and her brother had overstayed their welcome. When she asked, she was surprised by the answer. Jeremy had agreed to work on the Ponderosa.

"Jeremy, when were you going to tell me?"

"I was going to tell you as soon as you brought up leaving. You just did, so I told you."

"But I can't just stay here because you're working here." Annie didn't want to leave but now felt that she would be imposing.

"You've helped everyone out by staying here with me. I would have inevitably bitten someone's head off otherwise." Adam was actually feeling a fear in his gut that Annie might leave. He had been looking forward to being able to spend time with her when the snows came and locked them at the ranch and often locked them in the house for days at a time.

"You got that right. Miss Annie, you plumb been the best gift anyone coulda given this family. You kept Adam from being the ornery cuss he normally is when he's hurt or sick."

"But Hoss, Adam is fine now. His collarbone has healed up."

"Annie, I don't want you to leave yet. There's not going to be a job for you in town now. Winter always makes jobs hard to find. And Jeremy will be here so you would be all alone in town." Adam had almost slipped up then and expressed his true feelings. Everyone in the room understood what he meant though.

"Annie, everything Adam said is true. You are welcome to be our guest as long as you want. It's not everyday I get to repay someone for saving my son's life by pulling a gun on some rustlers and then stopping him from falling over a cliff. And then you took charge of his care here. I can never repay you enough for that." Ben was smiling but everyone knew he was very grateful to Annie for what she had done.

"I couldn't impose on you like that. I need to do something then to pay for my stay." Looking at Adam and the expression he had, Annie was quick to amend that statement. "But I won't do anything that he suggests."

"Annie, I'm sure my son would never suggest anything inappropriate to a guest in our home." Ben gave a pointed look to Adam for there were some times he thought that Adam pushed too far in his comments to Annie. "We do have the Christmas season coming up, and we could use some help with the decorating and preparations."

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright. I would be happy to help."

"Good, then that's settled. You will stay here, and Jeremy will be working for us."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

In the days before Christmas, there was plenty for everyone to do. Adam and Hoss took the wagon into town to pick up supplies and then a day later, they went back for more. They were getting ready for hosting a party and laying in stocks of supplies for the winter when they sometimes couldn't get to town. As Hoss and Adam returned from that second trip, Annie and Joe were hanging garland around the front door. There had been about six inches of heavy wet snow, and Joe couldn't resist. He hit both Hoss and Adam with snowballs as they were carrying boxes into the kitchen. He could tell by the looks he got that as soon as they could, they would be retaliating.

"Oh oh, Annie, get ready. There's gonna be a snowball fight soon."

"Why should I get ready? I didn't throw any snowballs."

"You don't think Adam is going to miss a chance to mash a snowball in your mouth?"

"Good point. All right, where's the best defensive position?"

Stacking snowballs as fast as they could, Annie and Joe still weren't ready because Hoss came at them with some powerful throws and Adam came up behind them after circling around the back of the house. He had been known in the past to even come down off the porch roof so Joe wasn't surprised but Annie was when he hit her in the back of the head with an especially wet sloppy snowball because he was so close he could. She turned around to throw one at him and got the next one in her mouth as she prepared to say a saucy comment. Then she got mad and tackled him which normally she wouldn't have been able to do, but he was so surprised, it worked. With her hands full of snow then, she gave him a particularly thorough snow face wash. When she was done, she realized he wasn't fighting back. Instead he had a huge grin which made her realize she had straddled him. She blushed about as thoroughly as she could at that point and moved to get up, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled her down for a kiss. It was a quick kiss, but she felt those warm lips wet with snow and they felt as if they had burned her. She leaped back as soon as he released her.

"Fun, isn't it?"

"You're a cad. I can't believe you just did that. We were having a snowball fight, ya big lug."

"I don't know. It felt more like wrestling to me."

Any retort by Annie was cut off by the barrage of snowballs that hit her as soon as she was standing. Adam started laughing so hard he rolled in the snow. Annie wanted to hit him with something harder than a snowball right then except she heard Hoss and Joe laughing hysterically too. Even Ben and some of the hands had come outside to see what the commotion was. They saw three men covered in snow with one of them laying in it, and Annie standing there fuming.

"Boys, I think perhaps you have given Annie enough of an introduction to a Ponderosa snowball fight. Annie, please, go inside and warm up. I'm sure these three can handle everything out here." With a raised eyebrow, Ben turned to follow Annie into the house and got hit in the back with a snowball. He turned around and his three sons were doing a great imitation of the three monkeys: no hear, no see, no say. He shook his head and headed into the house knowing he was going to have to hide his grin if Annie was anywhere in sight.

On Christmas Eve, there was a party at the Ponderosa. The house was gaily decorated and a giant tree stood next to the fireplace. There was a giant ball of mistletoe hanging near the front door. Musicians started to play, and Adam asked Annie to dance with him. He had not yet kissed her or hugged her since the snowball fight, but spent as much time as he could with her. Sometimes he reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Other times he touched her hand or her arm as he was talking to her. When they walked together, he put his hand on her back to guide her. He had never pursued a woman as hard as he was pursuing her. He meant to have her but she had yet to let him get close enough to hug her much less try to kiss her the way he wanted to kiss her. He pulled her close for their dance.

"Don't you think that's a little too close. I don't need to be guided like a baby."

"Just follow my lead. We're going to glide around this room together."

With his hand warm on her back and his breath on her face, Annie couldn't help herself and melded her body to his. She could tell that he was being affected by her as much as she was by him as he held her. The musicians moved from one song into another alternating fast with slow. After nearly an hour, when the music stopped, Adam didn't let Annie go but maneuvered her under the mistletoe.

"You can let me go now, you big lug."

"No, no, I can't. If you would be so kind to look above you, you will see it is mistletoe. I can't let you go now unless you kiss me. It's a tradition that must be upheld."

Submitting to a kiss, Annie went to pull away from him as he brushed his lips over hers again after the first kiss and then tried to nudge her lips apart with his tongue. "I can't kiss you in front of all these people. Not the way you're trying to kiss me."

"All right then, let's go."

"Go where?"

"Outside. We need to talk. Besides, you must be warm by now, and we can cool down a little and get some fresh air."

Grabbing her coat and his, Adam ushered Annie out the front door. He helped her slide her coat on and then pulled his on before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a passionate kiss he hoped.

"Well I don't have to kiss you here."

Adam pointed up, and when she looked, she had to laugh. There was another large ball of mistletoe hanging on the porch and he had positioned her directly beneath it. He pulled her into his embrace again and this time, he did get the passionate kiss he had been looking for. He kissed her neck then as he ran his finger along the neckline of her dress. She gasped from his touch but didn't pull away. He moved back to her lips and kissed her deeply again.

"Adam, we shouldn't be doing this. It's too much to do for a couple who aren't married."

Nuzzling her neck, Adam continued his kissing and caressing that Annie couldn't bear to stop and couldn't bear to continue.

"Please, Adam, don't. We shouldn't be doing this. We're not married."

"Well then, there's only one thing to do." As Annie went to turn to the house to return to the party, Adam pulled her tightly to him. She was surprised but what he said surprised her even more.

"Marry me. Please, will you marry me?"

"What?"

"I thought I made myself very clear. I wanted you from the moment I first saw you. But now I've gotten to know you, and I want you with me always. I want you in my bed; I want you by my side: I want you always and forever. I love you with my heart and soul."

Searching Adam's face for any sign of mischief, Annie only saw raw desire and hope. She wanted so badly to say yes, but she couldn't without explaining. "Adam, I can't say yes."

She never got that chance to explain. Adam dropped his arms from her, and that cold mask was fixed in place. "Very well, then. I guess you should probably go back inside. People will be wondering where you are."

As Adam turned quickly then and walked away from her, Annie didn't know what to do. She had wanted to explain, but he had turned on her so quickly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to explain any more if he could be that cold with her. She wondered if she did want to be with him. She didn't want another relationship without love. He had been so warm when he was flirtatious but had turned it off as fast as she thought any human could. Annie went back inside, but at the looks she got from Hoss and Joe, she knew they were wondering what had happened outside. She couldn't bear to tell them, and as she thought about what happened, tears began to flow.

Angry and wondering what Adam had done to upset Annie like that, Hoss and Jeremy did their best to comfort the young woman. Joe got her some tea, and told her to sit in the kitchen for a bit until she felt better. He sat with her and waited to see if she wanted to talk. Hoss and Jeremy went outside to talk with Adam because he did not come back in for the party. They couldn't find him, but Sport was gone.

As Adam had ridden out, he realized all of his friends were at his home. If he went to town, he knew he would probably end up at the saloon. So he headed for the little used line shack nearest the house. When he got there, he took care of Sport, and then he built up a fire in the fireplace and sat in the dancing firelight wondering how he had gotten things so wrong.

Christmas was very subdued on the Ponderosa when Adam did not return that day. They opened presents, toasted the holiday, and enjoyed Hop Sing's finest foods. But the empty chair at the dining table was a reminder there of what had happened. The biggest problem was that no one except Annie had any idea what had happened, and she didn't want to talk about it. As the day drew to a close, and everyone had retired for the night except Annie and Ben, he asked her to sit next to the fireplace with him.

"Mr. Cartwright, Jeremy and I should go. It's not going to be comfortable for anyone while we're still here."

"What happened?" Tears started to flow again so Ben handed over his handkerchief. "We need to get this all out in the open if anyone is going to heal."

"Adam asked me to marry him, and I said I couldn't say yes. I wanted to explain, but he just turned on me and walked away. He got so cold and distant. Then I came in the house, and you know the rest."

"My eldest son has a very difficult time opening his heart to anyone, trusting anyone. If you had said that to Joe, he would have gotten angry and demanded to know why not. Hoss would have probably shed a tear and asked you why. Adam is the most tenderhearted of them all regardless of that persona he has. He is very easily hurt. He runs away from being hurt. I think he expects to be hurt when he loves someone so he's more than ready to be hurt if something goes wrong."

"I didn't mean to hurt him. I thought he valued the truth, and I wanted to tell him the whole truth before he made that kind of commitment. He never gave me a chance."

"We're going to host the New Year's Eve party this year for the Cattlemen's Association. A member hosts every year, and it's our turn this year. Please, will you stay at least until that party is over? If you still want to leave then, I'll do whatever I can to help you with that."

"It's going to be very hard to do stay here. What if Adam won't come home because I'm here?"

"If you love him, isn't he worth a bit of trouble and hardship? And he will come home. If he isn't here tomorrow, I'll send Hoss after him. He knows that."

Smiling through her tears, Annie nodded. She didn't actually think it would make a difference, but she would stay until New Year's Day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

On the morning after Christmas, Adam was home. It was clear he hadn't slept well with the circles under his eyes. He also hadn't shaved or eaten since he left. He sat in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee when Ben came down for breakfast.

"Well, it's about time you got back. Yesterday was pretty much ruined for everyone, thanks to you. What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Nothing."

"Well I expect you to be shaved and properly dressed for the dining table by the time we have breakfast."

"I'm not hungry. What work needs to be done today?"

"Well the regular chores of course, and we need to haul some hay to those pastures before the snow gets any deeper. Three or four wagon loads ought to be enough."

"I'll get started on that right away."

As Adam grabbed his coat, hat, scarf, and gloves before walking outside, Ben could only shake his head. Hop Sing looked at him with sympathy. Adam was a difficult man to work with especially when he was upset, and anyone who knew him knew that he was upset. Ben informed Joe and Hoss that Adam was home when they came downstairs. He told Annie too and saw how pale that made her. Ben realized how important this was to her, and how difficult she would likely find the next week to be unless he could get through to his most stubborn son.

After breakfast, Joe and Hoss went out to help Adam move hay to the pastures. He had finished their chores for them, and it was a measure of how upset they were with him that they did not thank him for doing some of their work. Adam had meant it as an apology, but obviously it wasn't enough. They were relatively quiet as they worked. Joe and Hoss wanted to say something about Adam's absence on Christmas and how that had ruined the holiday for them but didn't know exactly what to say yet so nothing was said.

Uncomfortable with silence in almost any situation, Joe had to bring up something he had heard at the Christmas Eve party. "Adam, there's a rumor that Dave Anderson's son looks more like you than him. You used to be sweet on the lady he married and now there's talk."

"Geez, Joe, if you believe the talk, there ain't a spinster, widow, or lonely wife who hasn't had the benefit of older brother's attentions. Many a dark haired baby has got a man wondering if he fathered that dimpled little tyke or if his wife had a visitor while he was away on a cattle drive."

Remaining silent, Adam continued to fork hay from the wagon onto a stack in the pasture. Joe couldn't remain silent though. "Adam, is that true? Have you been roaming the countryside taking care of the ladies? Hey that would explain why he isn't married yet, wouldn't it, Hoss?"

"Well, now, it surely would. Hey, older brother, ain't ya gonna say nothing?"

"Doesn't matter what I say. If I say I didn't, it appears I'm defending myself. I can't prove I didn't. If I say I did, you're going to think I'm boastful and a complete cad. It's a situation in which I can't win."

"Well, rumors must be based on something."

"Why, Joe?"

"Well, because aren't they always?"

"As long as people keep thinking like that, rumors will continue to be created and spread. It's asinine."

"Hey, you don't have to call me names."

"I didn't call you a name."

"Yes, you did. Didn't he, Hoss?"

"Nah, he just got those uppity ways cause his mama was uppity like that."

"Hoss, don't."

"Aw, c'mon. You say all sorts of stuff, and I say one thing about your prissy mother, and you get all upset."

"Shut up, Hoss!"

"Oh, get over it. She wasn't a saint. She was a woman in bed just like any other."

With that, Adam hit Hoss. After he did that, he stood in horror of what he had done. "Hoss, I'm so sorry." Adam had promised Inger that he would take care of Hoss, and in the nearly thirty years since that day, he had never hit Hoss. Now he had broken that promise and was devastated by his failure especially after what he conceived were his other failures in the past couple of days.

However Hoss was incensed and never heard Adam's apology. He was angry because Adam had hurt Annie. Hoss loved Annie and thought he could have fallen in love with her except she only had eyes for Adam. Hoss had suffered the day before watching Annie struggling to get through the day without crying. All of his pent up anger was released though as he pummeled Adam who did not fight back. Joe had to grab Hoss' arm and scream at him to stop. Hoss stood then and looked at Adam who was on all fours on the ground.

"Why didn't you fight back? You gonna just walk away from me like you walked away from Annie on Christmas Eve after you hurt her so bad she was crying all that night and all yesterday even when they weren't any tears?"

Adam struggled to his feet with the evidence of Hoss' mighty blows all too apparent. "Hurt her? I asked her to marry me. How can I face her now? Tell me that. How would you face a woman who said she couldn't say yes when you asked her to marry you?"

Both Joe and Hoss stepped toward Adam then but he shrugged off their help. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the blood on his face. It didn't do much good so he picked up his hat and scarf, put them on, and grabbed the fork to remove the rest of the hay from the wagon. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but fought off the nausea and dizziness to complete his task. Hoss and Joe finished up with the other larger wagon. Without speaking again, Adam climbed aboard the wagon seat and snapped the reins taking the empty wagon back to the barn. He was done unhitching the horses when Hoss and Joe returned with the other wagon. Hoss told him to go get cleaned up, and they would take care of the horses and the harness.

When Adam went into the kitchen to get help from Hop Sing, Ben heard him. He came into the kitchen to find out why Adam had not come in the front door. What he saw shocked him. Adam's face was bloodied, bruised, and swollen especially on one side.

"Now you've been fighting with your brothers?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a fight."

"Oh and what would you call it?"

"It was a pretty good beat down."

"And I suppose you didn't throw any punches?"

"I started it. It was my fault." Adam was wincing with that statement as well as the astringent Hop Sing was using to clean the abrasions on his face.

"Which brother?"

"You don't really think Joe could do this to me, do you?" Hop Sing finished cleaning Adam's face and handed him another clean cloth to hold to his nose which was almost done bleeding. He knew he would get a lecture from Hop Sing as soon as his father left.

"A simple answer would have been nice. I'm going out to talk with him."

"Pa, please don't."

"Don't presume to tell me what to do when there's trouble in my family especially with the way you've been acting lately."

By the time Ben got to the barn, he was as curious as he was angry. He saw Hoss and Joe and by Hoss' embarrassed expression, he knew that what Adam had said was true except there wasn't even a mark on Hoss.  
"Would you care to explain to me why your brother is sitting in the kitchen looking like a prize fighter who lost a five round bout, and you look just fine? I know he can box better than that."

"That's just it, Pa. He hit me when I said something that made him real mad, but then he didn't hit back. Joe says he said he was sorry, but I guess I didn't hear him. Pa, I was just so mad at him after what he did to Annie, I guess it just got to me too much."

"Pa, Adam said he asked Annie to marry him. She didn't accept his proposal and that's why he left. Is that true?"

"Joseph, I don't believe your brother is in the habit of lying. He may hold back telling us some things, but you know you can take his word as his bond."

"But, Pa, why wouldn't she say yes? You can tell how crazy she is about him."

"Perhaps that is none of your business. For the next several days, it would be advisable if the two of you would stay out of your brother's affairs. They're a big enough mess already without you two making things worse."

Walking back to the house, Ben thought he probably should have a talk with Adam as well, but when he got inside he found out from Hop Sing that Adam had gone to lie down because he had a terrible headache. He didn't come down for lunch which was as subdued as a funeral. He was there for dinner and Hop Sing served him a bowl of soup. Annie was shocked seeing the condition of his face not knowing what had happened. After Adam excused himself when he finished his soup, Ben waited until he turned the corner at the top of the stairs before telling a short version of the day's events to Annie. Ben also resolved to himself to have a talk with his oldest son the next day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

In the morning as Adam exited his bedroom, Hoss was leaving his. Adam stopped and Hoss turned away to head downstairs.

"Hoss, I'm so sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry I hit you. I hope you can forgive me."

"For that little poke. Heck, I hardly felt it. Adam, I'm sorry for beating on you. It was uncalled for. I'm really sorry."

"It's all right. I guess I had it coming."

"Ya never said nothing against my Ma and I shouldn't have been crude talking about yours. Heck I never even met the woman."

"Ah, neither did I?"

"What, oh yeah. We're good then?"

Wrapping an arm around his big brother's shoulders, Adam nodded and the two went down to breakfast. Annie was already there with Ben so Adam said he wasn't hungry and headed out to the stables to do chores. Ben followed him and found Adam backing the horses out of the stalls so that he could muck them out. Ben sat on a bale of hay and watched his son for a bit wondering if he would say anything.

"Are you through playing the martyr yet?"

"I'm not playing the martyr."

"Of course you are. You think it's the same as the other times you opened your heart to a woman. She's not going to die like Sue Ellen. She's not going to run off with someone else like Laura did. She's right here because I asked her to stay to give you another chance."

Spinning around to face his father, Adam had a sharp response to that. "What good does another chance do? I asked her, and she said she couldn't say yes."

"Did she say no?"

"Well, it's the same thing."

"Is it? Or were you so ready to be rejected, that you assumed it was. You're smart enough to know better, but when it comes to love, I think you're the most childish of my boys."

"You've got to be kidding. That's the best you've got? I am not childish."

"Aren't you? You want love to be simple and pure like a child gets love from a parent at birth. Well, love with a woman isn't that easy. There are bumps in the road. You need to get over it, and ask her why she couldn't say yes."

There was silence then as Ben let Adam think it through. Adam handed his father a fork. "Do I get a tanning with this lecture?" There was a hint of a smile there, and Ben realized he had indeed penetrated that hard shell. "Pa, do you really think she loves me?"

"Adam, do you really think I would waste this wonderful lecture? I wouldn't have bothered unless I thought it was one of the most important things for your future. She loves you as much as I think a woman can before she is married. I think she's the kind of woman too whose love will grow as the two of you learn more about each other and share experiences. You're a lucky man to have found her. Now don't mess this up again. She's also a very strong woman and not about to take any more foolishness from you."

"Where is she?"

"Last I saw, she had her coat on and was walking behind the house."

Taking the hint, Adam walked in that direction. Ben took a deep breath, looked to heaven, and said a quick prayer. These two feisty people were going to need a bit of help from someone to be able to clear the air between them. Just when Ben was thinking there might be a resolution of this mess, he saw Jeremy come out of the bunkhouse to confront Adam. He threw Adam up against the wall of the bunkhouse and pinned him there. As Ben rushed to them, he heard Jeremy's threat.

"You go near my sister again, and I'll make what Hoss did to you look like child's play."

"Jeremy, listen to me. I think you should let Adam go talk with Annie and try to settle this between them. Honestly, Jeremy, I think it would be for the best if you would let that happen."

Unsure, but knowing that Ben had been a friend to the two of them ever since they got here, Jeremy relented and released Adam. "You better not hurt her, or what I said still stands."

"Understood. I won't hurt her. I promise."

With that, Jeremy stepped back and allowed Adam to continue to the back of the house. He found Annie there pacing and looking forlorn. When she saw Adam, she looked almost afraid.

"Adam, I can't do this. I told your father I would stay until New Year's Day, but this is just too difficult."

"Annie, tell me now why you couldn't say yes. I didn't give you a chance before, and I was wrong. I guess I thought you didn't love me, but if you didn't, you wouldn't feel so bad about how things are. So Annie, please talk to me. Tell me. Please?"

Looking at Adam and seeing the sincerity in his bruised and battered face, Annie decided they could talk.

"Adam, I was married before. It was a very brief marriage before my husband died in a typhoid outbreak that took my parents as well. Adam, I was very sick. I had a very high fever for days and days. I was in bed for weeks. When I recovered, some things, woman things, just weren't the same any more, and the doctor told me that I probably wouldn't be able to have children. There have been a couple of men who said they wanted to marry me. As soon as I told them that, they lost interest. What man doesn't want his own family, heirs? That's why I couldn't say yes. I had to tell you this, and now you can walk away, but at least you know why, and it has nothing to do with you."

Stepping in close to Annie, Adam held out his arms. Annie stepped into his embrace and the two of them stood silently for several minutes just relishing the comfort of the arms of the other. Then Adam was ready to talk.

"That doesn't matter as much to me as you do. Yes, I would like to have children, but it's up to God, I guess. The doctor was guessing. He didn't know. He was just giving you fair warning. You're giving me fair warning, and Annie, it doesn't matter. I love you. I didn't fall in love with you because I thought you could have babies so I can't fall out of love with you if you can't. Can we start over? Can we spend time together and get to know one another better?"

Annie turned her face up to kiss Adam and hold him, but two negative things happened. One he said 'ouch' to her kiss. His lips, jaw, and cheek had not recovered from the pounding he had received from Hoss. The other was that Annie felt something sticky on her fingers when she wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and put her hand in the curls at the back of his head. When she pulled her fingers away, they were sticky with blood.

"Adam, what happened? You're bleeding."

"I didn't know I was bleeding, but your brother objected to my coming to see you. He pushed me up against the wall of the bunkhouse rather forcefully. I guess after the beating Hoss gave me, I didn't protect myself enough. We need to do something about those two men before one of them accidentally kills me."

"For now, let's just get you inside and cleaned up. Then I think you might need to lay down for a while."

After cleaning up the gash on the back of Adam's head, Annie and Adam walked together from the kitchen toward the stairs. Annie was going to walk Adam to his room. Seeing everyone sitting in the great room, Adam had one comment.

"Please, no one has a reason to hit me any more, I hope."

"Yes, and let's keep it that way unless I tell you he needs a good whupping."

Hoss started laughing then especially when he saw the look on Adam's face. Annie had put him in his place again. He decided if she could put up with him, he could too. Jeremy seemed to think the same thing as he started laughing too before he commented.

"Only lady I ever knew who could bust a mustang. Looks like she done it again."

That got everyone laughing and Adam couldn't climb the stairs fast enough. In his room, Annie kissed him again before he lay down, but he didn't release her hand. "Please, stay with me. We won't do anything, but just stay with me."

Annie nodded and Adam slid over on the bed so she could lay down next to him. He wrapped an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He was exhausted after the last few nights as was Annie who soon was asleep as well. The door was open and they were both fully clothed except for boots, but Ben was aghast when he saw them. He decided to say something later when Adam awakened. He didn't like Adam's answer.

"Pa, we were fully clothed and asleep. We did nothing wrong. I promised you years ago to abide by your rules inside this house. Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

Ben had to admit the logic of Adam's statement but didn't like it.

"We won't do anything like it again if it bothers you so much, but you had to know how significant today was for us."

Ben did have to agree with that. For the next several days, life got back to a more normal and pleasant routine as Adam and Annie spent time talking and inevitably sparring with each other.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

On the night of the New Year's Eve party, Adam danced only with Annie. If she wasn't available because his father or brothers were dancing with her, he waited until she was free again. He held her in his arms tenderly for every waltz and held her firmly for the more boisterous dances. After more than an hour of that, she was exhausted. He grabbed their coats and escorted her out the front door.

"Why does this seem so familiar?"

"Perhaps because we did the same a week ago."

Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling Annie to him, Adam kissed her gently at first. He ran his hands up and down her back slowly as he pressed her closer to him.

"Now I was wondering if you had an answer for me that was different than a week ago, and I promise to stay right here and listen if you have something you need to say. If you can't say yes right now, I'll wait until you're ready to tell me that too. I know it's been a rough week, and I'll give you all the time you need. Just tell me what you're feeling."

Placing a finger gently over Adam's lips to stop his nervous talking, Annie looked into Adam's eyes and touched his face with her hands holding both of his cheeks. What she saw was a yearning there that she understood for she felt it too. "Yes, Adam, yes." Then they did kiss with a passion born of their love for one another and the difficulties they had experienced in the past week. They kissed and held each other close until they had to stop. With his hands situated once again on Annie's waist as her hands rested on his chest, Adam had a suggestion he was hoping she would consider.

"Annie, the minister is a guest here tonight. Would tonight be too soon to marry me?"

"Oh, my God, are you crazy?"

"Well, not according to my father but then he's probably prejudiced in my favor. No, I mean it. Your whole family is here. Mine's here. Why not?"

"I guess I never thought it would happen like this." Annie shook her head and tried to think of reasons not to do it. She couldn't think of any. "Yes, if you want to, yes. But what will your family think? Oh my, God, what will Jeremy think?"

"There's only one way to know. Let's go ask them."

Without giving Annie a chance to object, Adam wrapped an arm around Annie's waist and escorted her into the house. The music paused when the couple came in the door and stopped, and Ben looked to the couple. "Well?"

"She said yes."

"And?"

"And tonight is fine with her."

Congratulations and grins were all that met them then. Hop Sing brought out the champagne he had been told to chill and prepare to serve. Hoss and Jeremy gave Adam's slaps on the back that reminded him why he never wanted either of them to be angry with him. Suddenly Annie realized that Adam had orchestrated the whole thing. She whirled on him and demanded to know if he had in fact planned the whole thing.

"Did everyone here know you were going to ask me tonight?"

"Well, not all of them perhaps."

"I can't believe it. You never are spontaneous, are you?"

"Sweetheart, you must know me better than that by now. Would I do anything without thinking it through first and preparing?"

Shaking her head, Annie had to admit that was true. Adam pulled her into another kiss, and then the minister performed the wedding ceremony he had been warned by Adam might be expected of him this night. When the minister pronounced them husband and wife, and told Adam he could kiss the bride, he grinned and reached for her.

"You heard him. I have permission." And then Adam gave her a kiss that went well beyond the usual propriety of a first kiss of husband and wife. Annie whispered in his ear after he stopped.

"And now who needs a good spanking?"

Pointing at himself and acting as if he was innocent of everything, Adam got Annie to laugh. Then Ben was there to congratulate her as were her new brothers-in-law and her brother. The band began playing a waltz and Adam stepped out with Annie to dance, and then she danced with Ben, Hoss, Jeremy, and Joe before begging for a chance to sit for a time. She wasn't sure but she thought she hadn't stopped smiling for at least a half hour. Several people came in to say more snow was falling, and the guests hurriedly got their coats, hats, and scarves to head out and make sure they got home before the storm intensified. Ben and his sons made sure that everyone had enough carriage blankets and such before leaving, and then everyone left in a caravan so that should someone have trouble, the others would be there to help.

After the guests had left, and the room was cleaned up, Ben, Hoss, Joe, Jeremy, and Hop Sing said their goodnights. Adam and Annie stood alone in the great room with only the glow from the fireplace.

"I'm a little embarrassed to go upstairs now. They'll all know what we're doing."

"We're not going upstairs." Adam picked Annie up then and she wrapped her arms around his neck wondering what else he had planned. He took her to the downstairs guest room and pushed the door open. The fireplace had warmed the room, and candles illuminated the space. He carried her in, kicked the door closed, and sat on the bed with her in his lap. He began unbuttoning her dress as he planted light kisses on her neck and then her shoulder as he pulled the dress down a bit. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers inside twirling them in the hair on his chest. She had wanted to do that since the first day she saw him lying in bed and that glorious chest had been exposed for her to see and admire.

"Sweetheart, not too much too fast. I want to enjoy the first time with you."

"You were pretty confident that I would say yes, weren't you?"

"Was there a chance you were going to say no?"

"Not a chance."

"And, yes, I was very much counting on that. It would have been difficult to sleep tonight if you had told me to wait."

"What if I told you to wait now?"

Stopping what he was doing and looking carefully at Annie's face, Adam waited to see what else she would say.

"Ha, gotcha!"

"You really do need a spanking now and then."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Not tonight. But one day you may push me too far."

"Why not tonight?"

"Because tonight is our wedding night, and I won't do anything to make you unhappy. I want you to remember this night fondly forever. Then when we have our anniversaries, no matter how badly I may have acted at times, I can always remind you of how good I was tonight."

"Are you always planning and thinking ahead? Do you ever just enjoy the moment, and let the pleasure of something wash over you and wipe everything from your mind?"

"Hmm, I'm willing to try that. But first there are a few obstacles to remove."

By then Adam had Annie's dress open and pulled it down to her waist before he stood her up and pushed the dress to the floor. Then he pulled up her chemise running his hands up her sides and up her arms as he pulled that off. She was standing there in just her lacy pantaloons. He took off his shirt, unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his pants dropping them to the floor as well. He lightly caressed her as he leaned down to kiss her. He hooked a thumb in each side of the pantaloons and pushed them slowly down her legs.

"I've been wanting to get inside these lace pantaloons since the first day we met."

"You were inside them the first day we met."

"Yes, but my hands were tied and I was trying to grab that little derringer you had hidden in there. That was quite clever by the way."

Annie smiled with the unexpected praise from Adam. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back onto the bed with him. He lay beside her then and explored her body sliding his hands from her shoulders down across her abdomen while gently kissing her neck and her shoulders.

"I knew you were lecherous. That's why I had to keep running away from you for the last two months."

"Until tonight."

"I got tired. You caught me at a weak moment."

"Do you want to change your mind? It's not too late to back out."

"No, mister, you're stuck with me now. Don't expect me to let you win at chess just because we're married. I'm not the type to sit back and act all domestic and such."

"Umm, would you like to lay back and let me love you the best I know how? There's been a lot of talking, and now it's time for a lot of loving."

Annie said nothing but was smiling. She had liked her husband, and he had been a decent man, but they had not been in love. Their time together in bed was all about satisfying his needs, and in the time that they had been together, he had never done anything like what Adam had done already tonight to bring her pleasure with his soft kisses and gentle touching. Usually her first husband had done what he wanted and then rolled over to go to sleep. Annie was being educated this night on how to enjoy a physical relationship as Adam asked her what she liked, and she said he could keep doing the things he was doing and more if he knew of anything else. He grinned and kissed her deeply again pressing their bodies together as he encouraged her to touch him as he was touching her. By the time Adam moved above her, she was ready for him. When they finished their lovemaking, he rolled to her side and held her close until his breathing and heart rate returned to something closer to normal.

"Oh my, is it going to be like that every night?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't take my time tonight. I ached for you. No, sweetheart, it's going to be better next time. Just wait, and I'll show you." Adam laid back and pulled Annie beside him. "Do you want to sleep a bit first?"

"Do you mean we will do more tonight?"

"Yes, it's our wedding night. It should be memorable."

"If we're going to sleep, shouldn't we put on some nightclothes?"

"I've never been a fan of them. They bunch up, and now they would also be in the way. If you're willing, just snuggle up close to me, and I'll pull the covers tightly around us. We'll be nice and warm."

Annie rested her head on Adam's shoulder then with her hand still on his chest, and he did as he said. She fell asleep hearing the steady beat of his heart and the soft slow breathing as he fell asleep as content as he could remember being in his life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Hey, don't I get a ring? If you planned everything so well, why wasn't there a ring?"

"I did give you a ring. It's just that is a temporary ring until we can get to town and order you a proper one."

"It's plain wire you wove into a ring."

"I couldn't get a ring in less than a week regardless of whether I could have gotten to town or not. I could give you my mother's ring to wear if you wish, but I wanted to get you a ring that was from me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I really was just kidding and didn't mean to get you upset. This time."

Early in the morning on New Year's Day, Adam had awakened Annie when he slid out of bed to put wood on the coals in the fireplace. The room was small and probably could have been warmer, but they could hear the winds howling outside. A major winter storm had blown in on them after midnight. Now the newlyweds were snuggled down under the quilt and blankets wrapped in each other's arms and talking.

"Can we get a dog?"

"What? Where did that come from?"

"We had a dog when I was growing up. It was fun to have a dog. Then when my parents and Walter died, Jeremy and I started moving around and the dog got sick and died. I think it ate something it shouldn't."

"So you think it would be more like a home to have a dog? Well, we do have Joe. He likes to do tricks. He hasn't played any tricks on you yet because you were a guest, but now you're family so it's only a matter of time."

"What kind of tricks has he played on you?"

"He put some red dye in my bay rum. I didn't put it on my face because I saw the color on my hands, but I had red palms for weeks. Once, he put frogs in my chamber pot. I spilled and it was quite a mess to clean up. Hop Sing still hasn't forgiven him for that one. Hop Sing had to bring the rug to Virginia City to be cleaned. Pa wasn't any too happy either. Joe just looked sheepish, but inside I know he thought it was hilarious. I was just surprised he didn't find a way to watch me when I used it so he could see the look on my face. He pulled the necessary over once while Hoss was sitting in it. For me he tied a rope around it when I was in there so I couldn't get out. Then he went to town to have a drink. I was in there until dinner when Hop Sing needed eggs and came outside to hear me yelling. Oh, and now you're laughing. I suppose you're imagining it and thinking how funny that would be."

"Well, I was thinking I wouldn't mind doing something like that to him."

"That may be very funny to think about, but don't ever do it. Please?"

"Why not?"

"Pa gets very upset, and Joe will want to do about three more pranks to get even for one played on him. It just isn't worth it. The only pranks you can play on him are ones that he doesn't know are pranks."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm a little afraid to tell you. Isn't there something else we could do until everyone else is up and ready for breakfast?"

"Maybe, but it would have to be something very good, and of course very interesting to take my mind off this conversation."

Later, Adam and Annie had fallen asleep again and were awakened by noises from the kitchen as Hop Sing began to prepare breakfast. The room was considerably warmer and Annie was pleased to find that Adam had brought her clothing from the upstairs guest room and had brought an extra robe as well. He had a kettle of water by the fireplace so she had some warm water with which to wash.

"You can relax while I shave again, and then I'll dress and get out of your way. I'm not looking forward to going to the stable to do chores, but they have to get done."

Adam had shaved the night before so that he would not whisker burn his new wife. Annie had found out that he needed to shave twice a day or have significant stubble either in the morning or in the evening. She appreciated that he would do that for her. She watched as he shaved and dressed while she was still snuggled under the covers in the cocoon of body heat he had left behind.

"C'mon now, time for you to get out of bed. How about a kiss before I brave the terrible nasty storm out there?"

"You're only going a hundred feet."

"Yes but it will be a nasty terrible hundred feet. And then I have to come back through it all that nasty terrible snow again."

"I think you need to go try out for a part at Piper's Opera House. I'm sure they have a few tragic parts you can play."

With his hand to his heart as if he had been stabbed, Adam leaned down to kiss Annie before leaving. She slapped his posterior as he turned to go.

"Ah, wench, remember what I warned you about. You may earn yourself a spanking yet." Adam exited and closed the door before Annie had a chance to respond.

In the great room, Adam found Hoss bundling up for the trip to the stable.

"Thought you would be in bed yet since ya just got married last night."

"I'm giving her time to dress for the day. And I'll take care of her horse and mine. Now do you have a rope to tie to us?"

"Yeah, out in the washroom. I put some ropes there at least a week ago getting ready for when we had a storm. We'll string a line to the stable too so we can find our way back. You ready?"

As Ben got to the top of the stairs, Hoss and Adam were heading out into the maelstrom. Ben yelled for them to be careful, but with the wind howling, they never heard him. Ben was confident though that Hoss and Adam would take adequate precautions. He got a cup of coffee and waited at the window by his desk though even though he couldn't see more than about a dozen feet from the house. He started to get worried when an hour had passed, and they had not returned. Annie came out of the downstairs guest room, and Ben noted that she looked worried too so he did what he could to reassure her even though his own worry was unabated. Joe came downstairs and asked where Hoss and Adam were. There was no reply as both Ben and Annie just kept looking out the window. Joe grabbed a cup of coffee to warm up and began dressing to follow his brothers, and Ben came over to do the same. Just as they were about to brave the storm, the front door opened and two snow covered men stumbled in and then slammed the door shut.

"Damn, that's a nasty storm."

"Hoss, we have a lady present."

"Ah, sorry, Pa and Annie, but dadburnit, that storm done blew in part of the back wall of the stable. Adam and me been working to close off that opening, and we barely could feed the horses a bit and such before we had to head back here. We were getting too wet and cold."

"Yes, as soon as we can warm up and get some dry clothes, we need to head back. The repairs we made won't hold. I need some tools from the shed too, and some lumber if we can find some."

"How much do you need?"

"Pa, at least ten long boards, and a thicker beam if we can find one."

"Adam, Joe and I will get some hands and we'll go to the tool shed to get what we can. If necessary we'll take boards from the tool shed. Nothing in there will suffer from the snow. You and Hoss get warmed up."

Looking worried, Annie wanted to hug Adam but he was all wet. After he stripped off the wet coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, he tugged off his boots as well. He grabbed her hand then and led her up the stairs and to his room which was now their room.

"This will be our room now unless you want the guest room in the back to be our room. I need to get some dry clothing on. You can look around and see what you want to do, what you want to change, and bring your clothing and such up here. When I get back in later, we can find places for everything and you can tell me what you want to do."

Knowing that if Annie got busy, she would worry less, Adam was giving her plenty to do. He hoped the time would pass quickly enough for her. He finished putting on dry clothing and grabbed his heavier coat from the closet as well as another scarf and pair of gloves. Over it all, he was going to pull on a slicker because he knew he would have to do some hammering outside and the snow was heavy and wet.

"Whenever we get to town, we can buy some things too. First will be a ring for you, but we can get other things that you want. And before you say anything about a dog, we need to talk to Pa first. He has always been dead set against a dog here even when Hoss brought home the cutest puppy a few years ago."

As Adam prepared to leave to go do the work that was needed, he wrapped his arms around Annie and kissed her. He could see her eyes were glistening, but she put on her usual brave front.

"Don't you dare get hurt out there, mister. We have a few more things to do to celebrate being married."

"I'll be as careful as I can be. Hoss and the others will be helping."

Once Adam got downstairs, he could see Hoss was now dressed in heavier clothing too.

"Pa and Joe already headed out with some of the hands to the tool shed to get what you said we needed. They'll string a rope line from the house to the tool shed and then to the stable."

Following the rope line they had strung earlier, Adam and Hoss were soon in the stable. Snow was already blowing in openings in the temporary repairs. They got out the ladders and were ready when the others got there with lumber, a beam, nails, and other tools. They positioned the beam across the crossbeam that had cracked and secured it. Then they nailed the lumber across the temporary fix that Adam and Hoss had made. It was almost done in about an hour.

"I need to go outside and nail those boards to the new ones in here. Pile up some bales against this wall to help strengthen it and prevent the wind from blowing through."

"Adam, I can go help you."

"Hoss, it won't take long. I'll go out the tack room door so I'll tie off a rope there. It should take about the same time as you need to get a wall of hay bales up against this wall."

Soon, there were men in the loft lowering down hay bales to use, and they could hear hammering from the outside of the wall. Ben and Joe saw to the horses putting blankets over them because the stable was colder than usual with the wind and the snow that had blown in for part of the night. Straw was added to the small chicken coop that was in the stable over the winter so they could tell Hop Sing that his chickens were safe. There was suddenly a loud thump against the stable wall, and all were relieved when the wall held with no cracking or give. The worry was that they no longer heard the hammer, and after a few minutes when Adam did not return, Hoss and Ben rushed outside following the rope line Adam had used. They found the rope under a large branch that had fallen from a tree because it had become so weighted down with the heavy snow. Hoss rushed to the opposite side of the branch and saw the yellow slicker under the spreading branches.

"Pa, go inside and get everyone quick. We gotta lift this off of him."

Reaching down to start pulling the snow away from Adam, Hoss was relieved when Adam reached for his hand. He cleared more snow away until he could kneel right by Adam's head.

"How bad are you hurt?"

"I don't think I'm hurt too bad at all. The snow cushioned me and I can feel everything, but there's too much weight pressing me down. I can't move."

"We'll get ya outta there in just a bit. Pa went to get everyone to help."

Some of the smaller branches had to be cut away from the larger branch so that they could grab hold of it. In less than fifteen minutes, they were ready to lift as Ben stood by ready to pull Adam out. It worked just as they had planned it. Adam had trouble walking so Hoss and Ben helped him into the stable. There they closed everything up and made sure there were no more problems and then headed to the house. It was clear that the men would have to clear some of the snow off the roofs too so there wouldn't be any collapses. Ben gave those orders to be carried out as soon as the men were warmed up again as they headed into the bunkhouse. As they got to the house, the door was flung open and Annie was there looking scared. The snow was beginning to diminish, and she had seen them helping Adam walk to the house.

"What happened?"

"Sweetheart, it's nothing to be worried about. I got knocked down. I'll be fine. Just a few bruises."

"Then why can't you walk?"

"I probably could, but it's a lot easier this way." Adam grinned trying to alleviate Annie's worry but not very successfully. Once Hoss got Adam to their room, Ben and Hoss were a bit at a loss as to what to do. Adam settled it. "Annie can help me now. Thank you." It seemed weird to Ben especially not to be helping a son who was hurt. He had just realized how much had changed because of Adam's marriage.

After about a half hour, Annie came down the stairs with a pile of wet clothing and a yellow slicker. "He was right. Nothing serious, but he has some very nasty bruising on his back and shoulder. He's going to be very stiff and sore I think. Right now he's cold and hungry."

Almost as if he had been cued, Hop Sing appeared with a tray. He had soup, coffee, and warm biscuits fresh from the oven. Annie took the tray thanking Hop Sing profusely, and Hop Sing took the wet clothing looking at the other Cartwrights as if to say that was how they should be with him. Ben was thinking that exact thought, and thanked Hop Sing as well for helping so much. Hop Sing smiled then, and Ben knew all would be well for a time.

Upstairs, Annie sat at the side of the bed as Adam had his lunch. She had a funny smile so Adam asked what she was thinking. He put his tray on the table and looked at her.

"What's funny? You have this cute little grin."

"I think this was pretty much where I came in about two months ago. You were banged up and lying in bed with no clothes on."

"Yes, and I asked you to kiss me or climb into bed with me, and you got angry. I am sorry about that. I was just teasing."

"How about now?"

"Now?"

"Well, you could ask the same thing now."

"Would I get the same answer?"

"You should try it and find out."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"May I stay and watch?"

"Adam Cartwright, please get your sorry posterior out of my dress shop. That is no way to speak in front of a lady."

"I'm so sorry, Madame Fourier. I was most neglectful of my manners to speak so boldly in your presence. Consider me properly chastened." The lack of remorse was all too evident in the grin he could not hide.

"Just get on out of here. Your wife and I have much to do."

Grinning even more broadly, Adam left Annie in the capable hands of Michelle Fourier even if he knew Annie was going to blast him later for his insouciance. It was fun though baiting her like that and then waiting to see what she would come up with as a response. Behind his back as he left the dress shop, both ladies were smiling and shaking their heads.

"Madame Cartwright, is he always like that?"

"Yes, always."

"Madame, you are a lucky woman to have such a wonderful and oh so handsome man completely entranced by you."

Nodding in agreement and chatting about marriage and men, the two ladies began looking over fabric for dresses, and some dresses that were already made. Adam had told Michelle that there was no limit on his wife's purchases as he wanted her to have a proper wardrobe for winters in the high Sierras and then lighter wear for spring and summer. Jeremy and Annie had been expecting to spend the winter in California, and neither of them had the proper clothing for a cold snowy winter. Jeremy had been easier to accessorize with some of Hoss' old things, and then both Hoss and Jeremy had gone into the mercantile to buy some new items as well. Annie had at first objected to what Adam had told Madame Fourier saying that she didn't want him spending so much.

"It's for my benefit as much as yours, Annie. I get to see you in some pretty new things I hope, and then I get to help you out of them at night. No expense is too great for that pleasure."

"You are just awful sometimes."

"Do you want me to stop telling you how much I appreciate your beauty and your physical charms? I would hate to have to do that."

"Well, I guess it would be all right as long as you can stop doing that in front of your father. I don't think he likes it much."

"No, he probably doesn't. All right, not in front of my father. Now will you buy some new things while I have you here in the dress shop? Hoss and Jeremy are going to be buying a lot of things too. We'll load as much as we can in the sleigh and they'll take rest in the wagon."

"Is that why you said we couldn't all fit in the sleigh?"

"Yes, I wanted to be sure there was plenty of room for the purchases we make. You do remember how large our brothers are?"

"Why the sleigh and wagon then instead of the large carriage?"

"The carriage wheels are narrow, and we don't have anything to outfit it for the snow. We've never had a reason to use it in the snow. We've always used the sleigh or the wagon. Now Michelle will help you, and then afterward we can go to the jeweler to get a ring for you."

"Yes, Madame Cartwright, come with me and we shall do some fittings."

And that's when Adam made the comment that got him kicked out of the dress shop. He headed to the mercantile for he had some purchases he wanted to make there as well, and then he was going to the saddlery to order a new saddle made for his wife. He was enjoying this winter more than he could remember since his youth. As he walked, he saw Roy Coffee up ahead. Roy was always aware of what was going on around him and waited for Adam to catch up to him.

"Well, congratulations. I heard you made things right with that pretty lady of yours and got married to boot."

"Yes, we did. We're having lunch later at the International House. I would like you to join us if you have the time."

"I'll make the time. A sheriff needs to have lunch too."

"Good, then we'll see you there. I'm going over to the bank and then I have a few other errands to run. We'll meet you there."

"Now I hope you ain't carrying too much cash around. There have been a lot of robberies lately with so many miners and cowhands out of work. Mostly it's been small stuff, but you could present a very nice target for someone."

"I'll be careful but with Annie at the dress shop, and then we need to get her a ring, I do need to be carrying a large amount. I'll be as discreet and careful as possible. Maybe I can get Hoss and Jeremy to walk over to the bank with me."

"Sounds like a good plan. Now are those two eating through your winter stores at a record pace?" Roy had quite a grin then thinking about how much those two big men could eat.

"We're going to have to butcher a couple more steers this winter just to feed the two of them because, I swear I think they're still trying to impress each other with how much they can eat. Well I suspect you'll see a good example of that at lunch. Can we meet you there about noon?"

After getting Roy's agreement to that, Adam continued on to the bank and then went to the mercantile. He alerted Hoss and Jeremy that he had been warned by Roy to be careful carrying money because of so many robberies in town. Hoss decided that the two of them ought to walk with Adam.

"I don't need a nursemaid. I was just letting you know that there might be a problem."

"Way I see it, older brother, is that ifn the two of us is with you when you go collect your wife and all her packages, then there won't be any problem. We'll all just stick together until we leave. He didn't say nothing about no bushwhacking outside of town now did he?"

"No, and that's a good thing. Pa asked me to bring money for the payroll too. I'm carrying a lot right now. I'm going to the saddlery before we have lunch, and then Annie and I will be going to the jeweler's after lunch. Originally I thought we could do it before lunch, but it's already eleven."

"All right then, we'll go to the saddlery with ya. Jeremy's gonna need a few things ifn he's gonna be working the upper pastures and the spring drive. Old Tobias ought to be able to make him a nice pair of chaps."

So the three men walked to the saddlery and made their orders for goods. Unknown to them, they had been overheard because one man had followed Adam from the bank. Knowing it was a Cartwright, he and his friends had assumed he would have money on him. Now they knew he would be carrying the payroll so the man hurried back to his friends.

At the dress shop, Adam went inside as Hoss and Jeremy headed to the International House across the street. It was unlikely anything would happen so close to the center of town and amidst all the people there, and the two men were not at all comfortable going into a dress shop. Inside the shop, it was quite warm so when Madame Fourier said it would be a few minutes yet, Adam took off his coat and sat in a chair near the door. Soon the two ladies came out carrying several dresses.

"Adam, which of these dresses do you like the best? I thought the green dress was the best but Michelle likes the brown corduroy with the lace blouse top."

"What about the striped one?"

"I thought it was pretty, but it's a little fancy for everyday use but looks best with an apron on. So which one do you think I should get?"

"All of them."

"Well, I can't get all of them."

"Why not? Madame would you be so kind as to pack those up for us? And did you make sure she had enough of the other lady's things she will need?"

"Yes, indeed, Monsieur Cartwright, I did as you asked. The riding skirts and blouses that you asked for will be ready in a few weeks. And Madame has fabric to make more dresses."

"That's excellent. Would you write up the total please?"

Madame Fourier asked Adam if he could stand on the chair and get some boxes down from the top shelf. He did but had to stretch to reach them, and he felt the bruised muscles in his back and shoulder complaining about being stretched out like that. It was only a few days since he had been trapped under a snow laden heavy branch that had fallen on him. As he climbed down from the chair though, he almost blushed with what he heard.

"Very true, then, Madame Cartwright. It certainly does resemble a nice ripe peach like those we get from California. Very firm but luscious I would think."

As Annie answered affirmatively, she couldn't keep the glee from her voice. With her grin, Adam knew she had just scored one for her side. He grabbed his coat and asked if they had packages he could take to the sleigh. Chuckling, both ladies pointed to packages stacked on the counter near the door. As he left with the packages, he could hear their laughter. He was thinking that he needed to do something soon about her embarrassing him like that but at the moment had no ideas. As Adam got back to the shop, they were ready with the dresses that were boxed up by then so he took those to the sleigh and then walked back to collect his wife and take her to lunch.

"I thought we were going to the jeweler's next?"

"It got a little later than I thought so we'll have lunch first. Hoss, Jeremy, and Roy Coffee are waiting for us."

As Adam and Annie entered the restaurant, they saw their brothers and Roy already enjoying coffee. As they joined the group, Paul Martin came into the restaurant, and Adam invited him to join them for lunch. As Adam accepted the congratulations on being married, Annie smiled and placed her hand on his thigh. He picked up her hand in his and kissed as she smiled demurely at him. Adam loved the fact that she had no idea what her touch could do to him and that she wanted to be close to him seeking his reassurance with these two men she didn't know very well yet. Lunch was pleasant and all of them marveled at how much Hoss and Jeremy could eat. Adam's comments about it got chuckles from everyone except the two big eaters.

"Now, older brother, you wouldn't be so puny ifn you was to eat like us. You could use some meat on those bones."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Adam signaled the waitress.

"Could you tally up the total for me before these two behemoths order more food?"

"Aw, Adam, I was hoping for dessert. They got some right nice pies and I done told Jeremy that we could have some with lunch."

"You can have some but it's on your tab. Annie and I have another errand to run, and I want to head home soon so that we're there before the sun sets."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

After settling the bill at the restaurant, Adam escorted Annie from the restaurant and down the street to the jeweler's shop. One man followed them from the hotel, and two others converged from opposite directions. Adam and Annie were in the shop before the three men got together. They were frustrated by that, but quickly conferred and came up with an alternate version of their original plan. One by one, they entered the jeweler's shop. Adam paid no mind to the first man who entered even though he wasn't dressed as one would expect a customer who was buying jewelry. He pulled off his hat and held it in his left hand and asked the owner if he had any work and that made Adam relax. Soon another man entered and then a third. Neither looked like they were the type to be buying fine were greeted by the first man who told them there was no work for them there, but Adam felt the hairs on his neck stand up and loosened the small leather strap that held his pistol in the holster.

"Don't move, Cartwright! We know you got a passel of cash on ya. Just hand it over and nobody has to get hurt."

The three men drew as if on a signal, and Adam didn't have time to react. Adam tried to maneuver to get Annie behind him, but the man who had spoken saw that and had a new set of orders.

"You just hold up there. Turn around and don't move anywhere. Now, put your hands on the counter and move your feet back so's you're leaning. Ya like to lean as I recall."

Once Adam was leaning his weight on his hands which were on the counter, the leader of the little group told one of the others to grab his pistol.

"Now, little lady, you just reach inside his coat and pull out that envelope with the money. Then hand it over to me."

Stepping up next to Adam, Annie reached inside his coat and pulled out the envelope, but he felt a weight in his pocket after she did that so he knew she had dropped the derringer from her purse into his pocket. He went to stand up after she handed the money over, and no one seemed to object. Annie stood behind him then when he pressed her arm just a little to indicate to her what he wanted.

"All right, we got the money, now how we gonna get out of here with it? He'll be after us as soon as we walk out this door."

The leader of the small gang looked thoughtful for just a moment. "We'll take her with us. Ifn he follows us, we'll shoot her in the head."

The other two men looked shocked at that, and Adam looked furious. As the leader moved toward Annie who was standing behind Adam, Adam reached out to stop him. The man swung his hand with the pistol and hit Adam with the butt end of it. Adam went down to his knees then. As he did so, he pulled the derringer from his pocket and shoved it into the belly of the man who had hit him.

"What you gonna do with that little thing? You can't get all of us with that."

"No, but I can get you and you'll die real slow bleeding out if you're lucky, or from a gut infection if you aren't. Now you two, if you don't want that for your friend here, get out of here now."

"Go, do as he says. Just make sure you got the money, and remember that I'll be wanting my share." The two men left. Adam stood then with the derringer still in the other man's gut and the other man still had a pistol in his hand. "So we got ourselves a standoff, don't we?"

"Annie, go behind the counter and get down."

"Adam, ..."

"Just do it!"

Scrambling quickly to do as Adam commanded, Annie was soon out of sight.

"Now you can leave. But don't even think of coming back in here. If anything happens to my wife, there won't be a place on earth where you can hide. Get out!"

Walking the man to the door, Adam only pulled the derringer away as the man turned to leave. Then he slammed the door so he could not return. Adam picked up his pistol from the floor and walked to the counter. "You can come out now."

"Yes, Your Excellency. Who gave you the rights to make all the decisions?"

"Annie, some situations are just not meant for discussion. I had to protect you."

"Well, I protected myself pretty well before I met you. I was the one who still had a gun after they took yours away."

"There's wasn't time to discuss a plan with you. Sometimes I just need you to listen to me."

"What you mean is that you want me to just do as ordered. Well I'm not going to do that, and you better get used to the idea."

"Annie, let's not argue about this. Let's just go tell the sheriff. I'm sure those men are well on their way out of town by now."

"Well maybe I want to talk about it now. You just ordered me around like what I thought didn't matter."

"Sweetheart, there are just some times when a husband wants to protect his wife. As a man, I have to do that. I hope you understand that. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't protect you and you got hurt. I can't ever let you be hurt if I can do anything about it."

"Oh I know you meant well. It just hurt to be ordered around like that."

"Better that than what they were talking about doing."

With a pout on, Annie walked to the door and pulled it open. It didn't last long because as she stepped outside, she had to grin. Adam did the same when he stepped outside because there were Hoss, Roy, and Jeremy with all three men in custody. Roy was collecting their firearms as Hoss and Jeremy held their pistols on them. Roy grabbed the envelope of money from one of the men too.

"Well, now, older brother, I see you're just fine. We heard some fireworks going off in there and hoped you would still be all right."

"How did you manage to do this?"

"Well, now, you see, we saw you and Annie walk into the shop, and then these three walked in one by one, and you gotta admit they don't look like the jewelry buying type. How come you didn't see that right away? You must have been distracted by something, I suppose."

With a bit of a scowl at Hoss, Adam responded before turning to his wife. "Well, Hoss, if you have this well in hand, Annie, would you like to go back in and order that ring I promised you?"

"Well, thank you, Adam, so much for asking instead of telling me. Yes, please, that would be nice." The couple went back into the store to talk with the nervous owner.

Chuckling, Hoss took the envelope of money that Roy had gotten from the robbers, and walked to the store. Adam must have been very distracted to forget that. Jeremy helped Roy shepherd the three men to the jail. Inside the jeweler's shop, Adam and Annie couldn't decide on a ring. He wanted to spend a lot more than she wanted him to spend, and then there were disagreements over the type of stone and how many. Finally the ring was ordered, and everyone could head for home.

"Older brother, do you have to argue with Annie over everything?"

"No, Hoss, there are some things we don't argue about at all. But on everything else, it's not arguing. We're both free to state our opinions, and sometimes we don't agree with each other."

"Sure sounds like arguing." Hoss knew he wouldn't be comfortable in such a relationship. He liked a more demure gentle woman. But he remembered something Joe had said Adam told him once that he liked his friends, his horse, and his lady to have a bit of an edge to them for it made them more interesting. Hoss wasn't so sure about some of Adam's choices of friends, but with Annie and Sport, he certainly did seem to enjoy the tempestuous relationship. Then he remembered Margarita and how well she and Adam got along after all that fighting for they were the best of friends now. He just shook his head and snapped the reins to send the wagon home. He watched Adam and Annie on the seat of the sleigh ahead of him. They snuggled close to each other with a blanket over their legs. Annie had her arm wrapped around Adam's arm, and their two heads were close together so it was easy to see they were engaged in conversation. Next to him on the wagon seat, Jeremy saw the same thing.

"Adam is so different from her first husband. I thought Annie was all right with that marriage, but I gotta say, I ain't seen her this happy since we were kids. Adam is really good for her."

"You know, Jeremy, I could say just about the same thing for Adam. I wasn't so sure about the two of them with all the arguing and such, but he seems more relaxed than I can ever remember him. She's really good for him too."

In the yard of the Ponderosa, Joe came out to help carry in packages. Hoss was going to tell him to keep the packages separate, but Annie quickly shushed him and told Joe to just hurry to get them in the house because she was cold. Jeremy volunteered to take care of the horses as a gesture of thanks for the trip into town and the new clothes. Hoss and Adam followed Annie into the house knowing that she was up to something.

"Hoss, could you help Adam take these dress boxes up to our room please? Joe, could you bring the rest of my packages up too?"

Hurrying to do as she asked because they wanted to see what she was up to, Hoss and Adam both paused at the top of the stairs as Annie reached them there. She had them move down the hallway a bit and then told them to wait a moment before peeking around the corner. Downstairs Joe was just staring at the stack of packages. He looked up at Annie at the top of the stairs.

"Annie, how do I know which ones are yours?"

"Oh, dear, they're all mixed up now. You'll have to open them up to see what's inside. The ones with lady things are mine."

Then Annie joined Hoss and Adam down the hall. Quietly and slowly they crept back to the corner to watch Joe. One by one, Joe opened the packages. The first one was lacy pantaloons that he hurriedly stuffed back in the wrapping. The second was a gown and robe that he pulled out and admired before replacing in the package. He did have a bit of a flush on his face by then. The third were petticoats and chemises that he couldn't get back in the package fast enough. He did open a package with wool plaid workshirts, but the next package held a soft corset which made Joe's face turn even redder. What made the whole thing better for Annie and the others was that Ben had come out from the kitchen with a cup of coffee, stopped, and watched Joe as he opened each package.

"Son, is there something you would like to tell me? You do seem to have quite a fascination with ladies' undergarments."

Annie chose that moment to lead Hoss and Adam back to the top of the stairs to see Joe surrounded by open packages of Annie's clothing, and Ben standing there with a mock frown waiting for Joe's reaction. Joe stuttered and stammered and said it was all Annie's idea.

"Joe, I had no idea you would paw through my things. I thought you could just tear open a corner to see what was inside."

Hoss and Adam had to sit on the stairs as they started laughing gleefully at Joe's discomfiture.

"I gotta go outside and help Jeremy with the horses. Annie, now you can see which ones are yours here. No need to thank me. I'll just get going."

As Joe grabbed his hat and jacket, Hoss and Adam started laughing even more especially with the hasty exit and the door slamming shut.

"Adam, you done got yourself a right smart one there. Joe didn't know what hit him!"

"I know, Hoss, and whatever you do, never play a trick on her. She's enjoying this a lot more than we are."

By then, Ben understood what had happened and was chuckling too. The best pranks to play on Joe were always the ones he didn't know were pranks. Ben looked over at Annie and gave her a theatrical bow. It was good to have a lady in the house. She had tamed his oldest son's wanderlust, brought in a good friend for his middle son, and was more than a match for his youngest and his pranks. Life was a lot more interesting with Annie on the Ponderosa.


End file.
